NYC Standardized Tests: No Dancing, Death, or Politics

The New York Post reports that the New York City department of Education has advised testmakers of 50 not very controversial "controversial" words to avoid when creating city-wide standardized tests. Among those singled out: dancing (except ballet – guess someone hasn't seen Black Swan), death, and politics.

And "creatures from outerspace," obviously.

The list of words, available online via CBSNewYork, was recently submitted to a number of companies vying for a contract to revamp the city-wide standardized Math and English tests used to measure student progress throughout the year.

The words were chosen over administrative concerns they might "evoke unpleasant emotions in the students."

Another topic that evokes unpleasant emotions in students: tests, which are not, as yet, scheduled for a ban.

Also on the list: all mentions of holidays, religious, pagan, and personal (Christmas, Halloween, Birthdays) and things that do not exist (dinosaurs, homes with swimming pools.)

Here are 10 films from Good Housekeeping's Top Family Movies of the Past Decade whose potentially child-upsetting plots make them Too Hot for Teacher:

It's important to note that, while the inclusion of one of these topics "would probably cause a selection to be deemed unacceptable by the New York City Department of Education," there is, officially, no outright "ban" on these items. The department allows that some terms might be included on some exams "on a case-by-case basis." (Fingers crossed for "in-depth discussions of sports that require prior knowledge" on English tests.)

What words (besides "moist" and "baby bump," obviously) would you most like to remove from your child's educational assessments?